Im getting better in the straps and want to move onto some new things... Time to try some jumping Ive messed around with it a little bit but want to get some various tips and suggestions on chop jumping, swell jumping and swell riding in general in the Gorge. Im sure plenty of you guys have some good techniques to share and just suggestions in general on what to do with all those bumps and swells when your cruising on the river

I'll just give you some really broad ideas, I think one of the pro guys will probably do a much better job of breaking it down. Ok, just the jumping part. For me, a "chop hop" is done without coming out of the harness. Probably ass backwards, but I actually was able to chop hop much better when I learned how to jump. So lets just talk about working up to a clean, "yup, I just put my board in the air and landed it" jump.

-start recognizing "ramps" on the river as you ride. These are the steeper sections of swell that you've been avoiding, because when you sail over them at speed you almost crash no matter how hard you suck up your legs to absorb them. Turns out, these are the guys you're looking for! A good ramp is often indicated by a preceding white-water breaking swell. The ramp you want is just behind that mushy breaking wave.

Full commitment Mike, its only water! Pick a line that gives you plenty of power, yet gives you a good angle to launch off the swell... you may need to round up a bit to line up properly, but don't do so to the point you lose a lot power, you'll just crash. As you approach the ramp, unhook. As you hit the ramp, instead of trying to absorb it with your legs, do the opposite, push into it to get a good launch. When you get airborne, don't panic. Just look ahead to where you want to land, and hold onto the boom. If you crash, it will most likely be much softer than you think, especially if your launch was good. I've crashed before, and landed with my butt in the water, and just simply waterstarted again having never let go of the boom.

Practice with some small ramps and work your way up to bigger ones... sounds obvious, I know, but don't just launch yourself off the biggest one you can find. Get the mechanics down. -spot the ramp, -maintain speed and power in your sail, -head for it, -unhook, -compress and launch, -spot your landing, -land and sail away.

Simple jumps are not that hard to do, and really add another dimension to your sailing. I'd say the greatest risk comes from chickening out at the last second. That's when you and your gear will yard sale. Start small. Commit fully. Have fun!

Ive had no fear of the waves so far... Ive mostly been out on my polyester trifin in big wind days so far, its heavy and has awesome control and it pounds the waves into submission , but theres obviously some technique involved in getting real air. Its hard to get more than a foot or two out of the water and if I do it usually ends in a long spinout. Im going for those vertical board/horizontal sail jumps (eventually) but have hard time getting even flat board jumps. My quatro FSW should jump much better, but I dont have the comfort level with it yet when things get a little wild. My biggest problem is trying jumps in the channel area, I never seem to be able to keep speed there (at least on the oregon to washington reach), and never seem to be able to do much past slowly riding over the swell.

Ive tried the "pushing" onto the wave thing, with pulling up after, but it doesnt seem to help much, should I just push and not worry about the pull? Or am I possibly pulling too early?

My biggest problem is trying jumps in the channel area, I never seem to be able to keep speed there (at least on the oregon to washington reach), and never seem to be able to do much past slowly riding over the swell.

Ive tried the "pushing" onto the wave thing, with pulling up after, but it doesnt seem to help much, should I just push and not worry about the pull? Or am I possibly pulling too early?

Again, without getting super technical, it sounds like you're not approaching the ramp with nearly enough speed. Its very explosive. There's some YouTube videos out there with Dale Cook, and even though his airs are massive, watching him (I've seen the videos and him in real life on the river, sailing at the same time I was) will give you a good idea of the principals involved. I know you're not afraid, but if you don't have at least some "holy sh%t, I can't believe I'm doing this" as you approach the ramp, then you're probably just going to roll over like a big, round bump in the road. You could also go to the Hatchery and watch some of the guys there jump, paying close attention to their technique, especially speed and angle of approach.

In the video you're BAF ing comfortably. Too comfortably. Looks like you're not sheeting in far enough. The average Joe wastes about 20% of the wind by not sheeting in. They go slow and don't jump.

I was thinking your sail was too small but your easy rider two foot water start shows that you have plenty of wind for that sail?

The simplest advice is to go faster.

I was sheeting in as much as I could, I was overpowered, I was on a 6.2 Sunday, most people were on 4.5-5 and I was going pretty fast, faster than it looks, but my jumps never seemed to go up, just forward and a foot or so out of the water with hard landing and a good spinout half the time

2. My biggest problem is trying jumps in the channel area, I never seem to be able to keep speed there (at least on the oregon to washington reach), and never seem to be able to do much past slowly riding over the swell.

3. Ive tried the "pushing" onto the wave thing, with pulling up after, but it doesnt seem to help much, should I just push and not worry about the pull? Or am I possibly pulling too early?

3. Push/pull schmush/schmull. Just jam yer strapped-in feet into the base of the ramp and jerk 'em up as you climb the ramp. If you're going fast enough and the ramp is steep enough (even if it's small), you will get air. Get that timing down, THEN complicate it with boom English. One thing at a time, Grasshopper.

2. Strap on some torso, head, and face armor to quench the fear, suck it up, and blast across rough water as though it's glass ... hammer down, hooked in, gap closed, and sheeted in hard. It's only water, and you will get air unless you deliberately suck up every bump with your knees.

1. Those are SO easy, SO exhilarating, and can be landed SO smoothly. You're describing swapping off forward speed for altitude, perceived or real, and the key is so simple you will do it right on your first try, once airborne.
Next time you think you got your fin out of the water, whether it's a knee-high chop hop or a real jump, look up. That's all there is to it. Stay hooked in, look straight up, and your board nose will head straight for the sky directly overhead, with your sail more or less horizontal. It doesn't even take any skill, unlike those big horizontal jumps dependent on aerial board- and sail-handling skills. This little trick makes a two-foot jump (fin clearance) feel and look MUCH higher. You almost can't go wrong, because if the fin IS out of the water it works, and if it's NOT out of the water nothing happens.

That takes care of your first objective: getting your board vertical on a little chop hop. The other half of this non-challenging jump is landing. You have two choices: land flat on your back (painful from 5 feet w/o armor, fun with armor even from 20 feet), or choose instead to set the board down like a feather, silently, softly ... and planing. You do the former when you freeze looking straight up, the latter when, at the peak of your leap or hop, you look at your landing spot ... all assuming you're hooked in. This is a classic case of your board following your stare. Do nothing conscious with your rig; just jump hooked in, hold the rig steady, look up, look down, and amaze yourself with your newfound skill. The guy right next to you won't even hear you land.

There are hundreds of finer points of jumping well, but as far as getting bigger air, which I believe is your primary question, there are two main factors.

Speed - you are not going fast enough.

Ramp - your wave is too small.

On a slightly unrelated note. (Sorry if this comes off as anal and annoying) Your bottom two battens look loose based on those wrinkles in your sail. And, your harness lines are spread way to far apart for wave gear.

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